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Shrubby Mayweed

Oncosiphon sp.

Description:

Bright green plant with yellow button like flowers about 3/4 inch in diameter. The leaves were feathery and pleasantly fragrant like a strong mint. There were several growing in the rocks along the banks of the Gila River at the east end of Estrella Mountain Regional Park on the opposite side of Baseline Road and the developed portion of the park.

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10 Comments

CindyBinghamKeiser
CindyBinghamKeiser 12 years ago

It's similar. If you don't feel certain, you can always just put Oncosiphon sp.

MarkCoryell
MarkCoryell 12 years ago

I think I've found out what this is: Oncosiphon suffruticosum. The photo at this website has the best likeness to what I saw along the Gila River. Ironically enough this website appears to be from South Africa:

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/onc...

CindyBinghamKeiser
CindyBinghamKeiser 12 years ago

Bummer! The only other one that's similar that I know of is the genus Oncosiphon. It's not native to your or my area but it's been introduced to both. It's worth a look I think :)

MarkCoryell
MarkCoryell 12 years ago

I looked at the Wikipedia reference for Matricaria sp. and found one that looks close - Matricaria discoidea. According to Wikipedia it is found in Arizona. Wikipedia states that it is also found in disturbed areas. The spot where I found it was along a rocky shoreline of the Gila River where the water level changes. There is also some stream restoration going on nearby. The only difference is that the yellow flower on top on the one I saw doesn't have the wide fleshy stem underneath. Using Plants of Arizona, which I've found to be reasonably reliable, I couldn't find any listings in the index for Chamomile, Matricaria, or Lamiaceae.

CindyBinghamKeiser
CindyBinghamKeiser 12 years ago

I agree with Viv, this looks and sounds (location and smell) like Matricaria sp which is sometimes called Wild Chamomile. Check out the Wikipedia link and see what you think. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matricaria

Nitch
Nitch 12 years ago

hmmmm... sounds like this one belongs in the lamiaceae family... hope someone can ID it soon... :)

VivBraznell
VivBraznell 12 years ago

How about Wild Chamomile or Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

Bernadette S
Bernadette S 12 years ago

I'll be interested to see if you get an ID for the plant. The fragrance sounds lovely!

MarkCoryell
MarkCoryell 12 years ago

Thanks very much, Bernadette. I looked in Plants of Arizona by Anne Orple Epple and it lists two species of Artemesia in Arizona: filifolia (Sand Sagebrush) and franseroides (Ragweed Sagebrush). From the color pictures the shape and the size don't quite match what I saw. The plants I saw were about 2.5 - 3.0 feet in diameter and at the most 2.5 feet tall. It might be a similar genus or something a exotic not listed in the Plants of Arizona. When you touch the plants you get a strong scent on your hands. It was something like what you'd get from a Sage but seemed more powerful and almost like licorice.

Bernadette S
Bernadette S 12 years ago

Perhaps a type of wormwood, Artemisia sp?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_(...)

MarkCoryell
Spotted by
MarkCoryell

Arizona, USA

Spotted on Mar 18, 2012
Submitted on Mar 18, 2012

Spotted for Mission

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